| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
type |
TVTItem |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
label |
Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
page |
Swordfishtrombones |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
comment |
Swordfishtrombones is the eighth studio album by Tom Waits, released in 1983 through Island Records. In many ways "Swordfishtrombones" was a New Sound Album. It was the first album he produced himself and the first to mark a radical change in style. He left his "drunk jazzy crooner/pianist image" from his previous seven albums and moved to a more Avant-Garde Music style, inspired by carnival music and Captain Beefheart. Seeing that Waits was finally starting to get some success as a singer this was quite a bold move. In fact, the album was already recorded in 1982, but took Waits 13 months before he found a label interested in releasing it.Swordfishtrombones is well regarded as one of Waits' best albums, thanks to fan favorites such as "Underground", "In The Neighborhood" and "Frank's Wild Years". |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
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2023-10-06T04:46:34Z |
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2023-10-06T04:46:34Z |
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Dropped link to Instrumental: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
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Instrumental |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
isPartOf |
DBTropes |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1045c71a |
type |
Dying Town |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1045c71a |
comment |
Dying Town: "A Town With No Cheer", which describes a town between Melbourne and Adelaide, abandoned after the railway no longer needed watering stops. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1045c71a |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1869b4b1 |
type |
Unreliable Narrator |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1869b4b1 |
comment |
Unreliable Narrator: "Swordfishtrombone" tells a tale about a man and his weird adventures, though in the end Waits sings: |
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| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1f37a427 |
type |
Face on the Cover |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_1f37a427 |
comment |
Face on the Cover: Waits is featured on the cover, to the right. |
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type |
Crapsack World |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_21d70919 |
comment |
Crapsack World / Wretched Hive: "In The Neighborhood". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_21d70919 |
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type |
New Sound Album |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_22093e9b |
comment |
New Sound Album: This record surprised many listeners, as Waits moved into more experimental territories, a style he would never leave throughout the rest of his career. |
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type |
Black Comedy |
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comment |
Black Comedy: "Frank's Wild Years". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_222dc873 |
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type |
Easy Road to Hell |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_23a0f25f |
comment |
Easy Road to Hell: "Down Down Down" about a liar and cheater who went "solid down to Hell". |
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type |
Title Track |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_23b0d78 |
comment |
Title Track: None, though the track "Swordfishtrombone" comes close with the only difference being that the song title and Album Title Drop within it are singular, while the album title is in plural. |
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| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_26b2747 |
type |
Alliterative Title |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_26b2747 |
comment |
Alliterative Title: "Down Down Down". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_26b2747 |
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type |
Spiritual Successor |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_27a42ebc |
comment |
Spiritual Successor: Swordfishtrombones forms a trilogy along with Rain Dogs (1985) and Franks Wild Years (1987), centred around the fictional Frank O'Brien. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_27a42ebc |
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type |
Ghost Town |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_2dc3e97c |
comment |
Ghost Town: See Dying Town. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_2dc3e97c |
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type |
Miniscule Rocking |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_2e70a1db |
comment |
Miniscule Rocking: "Underground", "Johnsburg, Illinois", "Just Another Sucker on the Vine", "Frank's Wild Years" and "Trouble Braids" are all under two minutes long. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_2e70a1db |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_49d3b595 |
type |
Cradle of Loneliness |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_49d3b595 |
comment |
Cradle of Loneliness: "Shore Leave": |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_49d3b595 |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_49d3b595 |
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type |
Pyromaniac |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_52a8d3dc |
comment |
Pyromaniac: Frank in "Frank's Wild Years", who burns down his house and everyone and everything in it. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_52a8d3dc |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_5521ed05 |
type |
No Animals Were Harmed |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_5521ed05 |
comment |
No Animals Were Harmed: Subverted three times: "In The Neighborhood": "16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six": "Franks Wild Years", where a chihuahua "that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind" is described. Frank later burns down his house and the final line of the song is: |
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type |
Creepy Circus Music |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_67a70f33 |
comment |
Creepy Circus Music: The instrumental "Dave the Butcher". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_67a70f33 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_6a696742 |
type |
The Power of Love |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_6a696742 |
comment |
The Power of Love: "Johnsburg, Illinois". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_6a696742 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7bef792a |
type |
BreakUpSong |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7bef792a |
comment |
Break Up Song: "Gin Soaked Boy". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7bef792a |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7eebe99c |
type |
The Alcoholic |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7eebe99c |
comment |
The Alcoholic: "Gin Soaked Boy". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_7eebe99c |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_8c00118f |
type |
Spoken Word in Music |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_8c00118f |
comment |
Spoken Word in Music: "Frank's Wild Years" has Waits tell a story about Frank O' Brien, with some jazzy instrumentation in the background. |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_8c00118f |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_8c00118f |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9da3227a |
type |
Careful with That Axe |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9da3227a |
comment |
Careful with That Axe: "Shore Leave" features Waits squealing the title in a high pitched voice near the end. He lets out another at the end of "Swordfishtrombone". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9da3227a |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9dab0a6e |
type |
Continuity Nod |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9dab0a6e |
comment |
Continuity Nod: "Just Another Sucker on the Vine" reminds fans of the previous album Heartattack and Vine (1980). The song "Frank's Wild Years" already predates the future album Franks Wild Years (1987). |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9dab0a6e |
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type |
One-Man Song |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9e9c53ee |
comment |
One-Man Song: "Dave the Butcher" and "Gin Soaked Boy". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_9e9c53ee |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_a7544a0f |
type |
Beneath the Earth |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_a7544a0f |
comment |
Beneath the Earth: "Underground". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_a7544a0f |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_b7920c43 |
type |
Lost in Translation |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_b7920c43 |
comment |
Lost in Translation: "Down, Down, Down" has a different translation in Japanese -> 地獄に落ちた男の歌 - (Song of a Man Who Fell to Hell) |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_b7920c43 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_bda474d2 |
type |
Last Note Nightmare |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_bda474d2 |
comment |
Last Note Nightmare: "Johnsburg, Illinois". The first minute of the short song is a tender piano piece about a sweetheart, but towards the end of the song there is a missed note, and then a couple; the tune eventually grows into a series of dissonances that make for a somewhat creepy ending. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_bda474d2 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_c75df49a |
type |
Shout-Out |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_c75df49a |
comment |
Shout-Out: The album cover shows Waits in the presence of actor Angelo Rossitto, best known as the black haired dwarf actor in Freaks (1932), and Lee Kolima, who appeared in Cannonball Run II (1984). |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_c75df49a |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d028ca10 |
type |
Deliberately Monochrome |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d028ca10 |
comment |
Deliberately Monochrome: The album cover is in black-and-white, with an added colour tint effect. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d028ca10 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d0f0a80d |
type |
One-Word Title |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d0f0a80d |
comment |
One-Word Title: "Underground", "Swordfishtrombones", and "Rainbirds". |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d0f0a80d |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d148b019 |
type |
Mundane Made Awesome |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d148b019 |
comment |
Mundane Made Awesome: "Soldier's Things", about the inside of a box full of possessions of a soldier. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d148b019 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d29f109e |
type |
Live Album |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d29f109e |
comment |
Live Album: "Johnsburg, Illinois" is a live track. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_d29f109e |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dbfd6b8 |
type |
Lyrical Dissonance |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dbfd6b8 |
comment |
Lyrical Dissonance: "Frank's Wild Years", a jazzy recitation about a rather dark tale. "In the Neighourhood" is an uplifting and cheery song, yet describes a lot of depressing situations. |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dbfd6b8 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dd4042f9 |
type |
Avant-Garde Music |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dd4042f9 |
comment |
Avant-Garde Music: This album marked Waits's move into avantgarde music, exemplified by the very first track on the album: |
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1.0 |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_dd4042f9 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f470199 |
type |
Franchise Codifier |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f470199 |
comment |
Franchise Codifier: Waits had been known as a jazzy pianist and singer-songwriter in the 1970s, but this album established the eccentric, darkly theatrical sound that came to define his output from then on. |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f470199 |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f470199 |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f511ea9b |
type |
Product Placement |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f511ea9b |
comment |
Product Placement: "16 Shells From A Thirty Oughts Six": "Frank's Wild Years": |
| | Swordfishtrombones (Music) / int_f511ea9b |
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ItemName |
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Swordfishtrombones (Music) |
